Back to School
by MinnieMay
Summary: Principal Wood and Buffy talk on her first day as guidance counselor. High jinks ensue. (Robin Wood/Buffy)


  
Title: Back to School   
Author: Minnie-May   
Distribution: Archive permission granted to: Watching Eyes. All others please ask.   
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Buffy or Angel (not even Wesley ;_;) they are all owned by Joss Whedon and the fine folks of Mutant Enemy…..lucky….   
Summary: Principal Wood and Buffy talk on her first day as guidance counselor. High jinks ensue. (Robin Wood/Buffy)   
Rating: G-PG   
Feedback: Yes please! Send to: sweet_senshi@hotmail.com   
Notes: This has spoilers from the Season Seven Buffy episode 'Lessons'.   
Dedication: To Alea, because she annoys me into writing her fics. And I do it. 

BACK TO SCHOOL

Her office was cramped. There were about forty boxes cluttered around the small space so that one could hardly even enter it without being buried under an avalanche. I just hired her to be a guidance counselor, not even a guidance counselor really. More like a guidance….helper. Guidance….assister perhaps? It didn't really matter; the important part was that I **had** hired her. And it had nothing to do with the fact that she was beautiful; no, that was just a benefit. 

I step around a lamp lying haphazardly on the floor and wonder what a person could need with this many boxes. What did she have in all of that? Was she moving in or something? Taking a guilty peek around to make sure that indeed Ms. Summers is **not** in her new office, I peal back the end of one of the boxes and look inside. There are a few books inside and past that there's something else that I can't quite make out. I take another peek around and then fully open the box and pull the books away. 

Oh sweet mother, it's a crossbow. 

"Principal Wood!" I hear a strangled voice behind me and turn to see that it's Buffy. But then, of course it's Buffy. She's standing in the doorway, eyes glued to my hand. And why shouldn't she be? I'm still holding her crossbow.

"Ms. Summers, good to see you're so enthusiastic about the job" I say, motioning numbly with the crossbow I just can't seem to put down. It's been awhile since I've made a good fool of myself, I should have figured I was due. 

"Uhhh yea, well….you know. It's all for the children. And the guidance. Of the children. Or, um, so I've heard" Buffy replies, staring at me as if I've lost my mind. 

Perhaps if I wasn't pointing a weapon at her pretty blonde head I wouldn't be getting such a weird look. I hurriedly put down the crossbow and gesture to it with my hand as I speak to her.

"Guidance involves weaponry?" 

"It's just for show. It's ancient and valuable and….stuff. Generations of Summers have had this crossbow. We call it Billy" Buffy explains, walking over to the crossbow and scooping it up in an expert hand. 

"Well it's nice to meet….Billy," I say, not really sure I'm actually having this conversation. That's what you get when you hire someone whose high school rap sheet is longer than Titanic. 

"Sorry about the mess" Buffy says, walking around me and perching on the end of her desk. Which, incidentally, is the only part of the desk that's not covered. 

"Oh, it's no problem" I say, blowing it off as if she'll actually be able to fit any of this in the office. She'll just have to figure that one out herself. 

Then there was silence. I'm trying to remember the reason that I came to see her in her little example of claustrophobia and she's trying to figure that out as well. See I had originally had a purpose for this visit, but finding medieval weapons had side tracked that. Now the purpose was gone and I was standing in the only clear space in the office staring at Buffy. Who did not have mom-hair today. 

"I just wanted to make sure you knew where everything was" I finally get out, clasping my hands behind my back. I have a bad feeling that I would be pacing if not for the cramped nature of the office. 

"Oh yea, sure. I mean I walked around here the whole first day. I've gotten the lay of the land and everything like that" Buffy comments, edging a little too far on the desk and causing something to topple off. With razor sharp relaxes she snatches whatever it was before it can hit the ground and places it back on her desk. 

"I meant the faculty facilities. Have you seen where we keep the student files yet? Or the faculty lounge?" 

"Oh…not exactly. But you know where I would really, really like to go?" 

I'm afraid to ask. "Where?"

"You're office"

"Mine?" 

"Well you see" Buffy begins, walking over to me, "before the school went kabluey you're office was the school library. And I know that considering my record and grades this might be a little hard to believe but I spent a **lot** of time in there. So I just want to kind of, you know, revisit old times."

"I'm not sure if that would be-" I begin but she's giving me a sad puppy kind of look and I feel myself relenting. I mean, the girl's obviously been going through a rough time, with all the dogs dying and her little sister starting school. It couldn't hurt any, I convince myself. 

"-But I'm sure it couldn't hurt" I end off lamely. So much for putting my foot down. This keeps up and I'll end up getting eaten like the last two principals. I wasn't hired for this job because I was a push over. 

We're walking down the hall now and I just noticed the duffel bag that's swinging at her hip. I decide not to ponder its usage when a young man comes walking over to us and I immediately recognize him as one of the construction workers handling the rebuilding. 

"Hey Buff, you ready?" he asks, matching his stride with Buffy's.

"Yup. Principal Wood this is Xander Harris, a friend of mine. He, er, spent a lot of time in the library too. You wouldn't mind if he had a look around too would you?" Buffy asks, smiling at me as we approach my office door. Now this is getting ridiculous. 

"We'll only be a minute" Xander Harris informs me as they open my office door and disappear behind it. 

So now I'm standing in front of my own office, feeling uncomfortable about just walking in there and demanding to know what they're doing. Students late to class are staring at me as if I've gone mental so I stare at them long and hard until they scamper away. 

A loud screeching noise erupts from my office and I try the door handles to see what is going on now. Unfortunately the doors are locked and no amount of tugging seems to be able to open them. It sounds as if there's a battle raging in my office and I hear the sound of furniture breaking and more of those high pitched screams. 

"Ms. Summers?! Buffy?!" I call through the door but I don't hear any response. I consider kicking in the doors but something holds me back. Instead I just stare at the door helplessly, trying to hear what's going on inside.

There's an ear splitting screech and then silence. I stare at the door and contemplate my next move. 

"Buffy?" I ask weakly. 

The doors open and Buffy walks out, limping slightly and with a small gash on the side of her head. 

"There was …a herd of wild dogs! Just jumped through your windows! And…and Xander and I fought them off. So I wouldn't worry too much about it. I don't think they'll be coming back" Buffy assures me. I step to the side and see her friend Xander putting a glowing orb in the duffel bag before she can jump in front of me and obscure my view. 

"I'm REALLY sorry about your desk sir"

"My desk?" I ask faintly. "What happened to my desk?"

"It was a wild dog thing. I'm REALLY sorry. You can take it out of my paycheck if you want to" Buffy apologizes profusely. 

"That's quite alright Ms. Summers, I'm just glad that you're alright" I reply, knowing full well that if I took the desk out of her paycheck there would be scant left. 

Xander walks past me with the duffel bag and gives me a nervous smile before disappearing down the hall. Buffy quickly steps away from the doorway and for the first time I'm able to survey the damage done to my office. God, why did I want this job? My desk is now a venue for roasting smores and my plants are all de-potted, soil strewn across the floor. 

"Well I should go and….find those file cabinets" Buffy says, beginning to walk down the hallway. I watch her retreating form for a moment before I find the strength to speak.

"These wild dogs…does this happen a lot?"

"I wouldn't worry about it Mr. Wood" Buffy says as she turns and gives me a brilliant smile. "It's nothing I can't handle." She's turning now and walking up the hall and I'm standing in front of my office, trying to puzzle it all out. 

Right before she turns the corner Buffy stops and pokes her head back around. 

"Welcome to Sunnydale High Principal Wood," she says brightly and her blonde head disappears out of sight.

What have I gotten myself into?

END


End file.
